He was in danger of being drawn into a lengthy battle in an edgy second set, but came through in the tie-break and wrapped things up after two hours and 37 minutes.

A straightforward afternoon seemed to be unfolding when Murray played a terrific game that included a deft half-volley, a deadly backhand lob and a brilliant forehand pass, to lead by a set and a break.

What followed was distinctly unimpressive, however, with his second serve coming under attack from the Russian 20th seed.

Match stats

Murray

Youzhny

Match time: 2 hrs 17 mins

15

Aces

1

4

Double faults

1

63%

1st serve %

61%

81%

1st serve win %

63%

40%

2nd serve win %

44%

45

Winners

33

16

Errors

20

5/10

Break points

2/5

When Murray double-faulted to drop serve for the second game in succession and then fell 5-2 behind, he was under real pressure for the first time in the tournament.

Youzhny, playing in the last 16 at Wimbledon for the eighth time, had his chance to level when he served for the set, but after seeing off two break-back points he could do nothing about a Murray forehand on the third.

The Scot was still searching for consistency, and another double-fault saw him change ends 4-2 down in the tie-break, but the most delicate of drop shots shifted the momentum.

Murray cracked a cross-court backhand winner on set point and, after Youzhny received treatment on his shoulder, the third set was a one-sided affair.

The Russian tamely handed over his serve in the second game and Murray broke for the fifth time before sealing victory with a blistering forehand and a serve-volley.

"It was a tough match, the first couple of sets especially, but once I got ahead in the third I concentrated hard on not letting him back in like I did in the second set," Murray told BBC Sport.

Analysis

Tim HenmanFormer British number one and BBC Sport expert

"It was not Murray's best performance but in a Grand Slam you are not always going to be at your best but he has beaten a good grass court player. It was an average performance but he can go away and work on some of those things that didn't work."

"I don't take anything for granted. I know how hard these tournaments are to win. There are no guarantees here and I don't come into them thinking I am going to win.

"I just concentrate on each game. Serena lost today; Roger [Federer] has lost and Rafa [Nadal] has lost, so you cannot take anything for granted."

"There's no cause for concern. My back is what it is. It's felt way, way better than it was a few weeks ago," he added.

"There's a few times on the court where you feel things. You just have to find a way of managing those issues and getting through them because a lot of guys have had problems during this Slam especially.

"A lot of guys have had trainers on court and whatnot. So everyone's got little niggles. You just have to manage them and get through it."

I don't think its about being Scottish or English at all, Andy Murray is Scottish with some English ancestry - English grandmother - so he is truly British. He's come through a lot including being a yoing kid during the Dunblane masacre. He's risen to No.2 in the World and already with one Grand Smam title. Best of luck to him, and for the future Laura Robson, not forgetting Heather Watson too.

The BBC today at wimbledon mentioned your cheerleader...I was your cheerleader Andy!! Hope you liked the banner we put up (got told off for that!) We loved every minute ot it, camping out was well worth it!!

@312Aye okay, fair enough. I was actually quoting Jimmy Reid though, who meant it, as do I, as a good thing. Anyway, to get back to the tennis I also couldn't believe the collective panic when he had his 'blip'. Every top player rarely keeps it going for all three sets, let alone five, and we don't have to look any further than this fortnight for that....erm, that is, apart from Nole !?!?

I couldn't believe how nervous the crowd got when he had a little wobble in the 2nd set. Have they not been watching Murray during the 'Lendl era'? He's far more resilient nowadays, and routinely turns around 'blips' into confident wins, but the way the crowd reacted during those 15 minutes, you'd think he was getting hammered by also-rans week-in week-out. Calm down, he's better than you think.

Wow, the haters are throwing eppies galore. Fairly cheers you up, especially as we all know it's only getting worse for them. Scotland's No1 makes sure of that with his continued success at the highest level.

Well, to be fair, you referenced Scots as a 'mongrel race', whereas 303 is slightly more temperate.

I agree with you, but that phrase was always going to offend the BBC - an organisation which uses our public money to avoid being at all controversial and seeks only to achieve an anodyne middle ground.

@303I am also embarrassed by this, and by the plethora of posts talking about 'race' and what have you. Totally irrellevant.But when I post something saying this, it gets 'removed'BBC...are you actively encouraging these people ?

BBC links

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